Lightning at Midnight
by Mustangridervwhc
Summary: A new horse shows up at River Bend. Why is she here and is there a way to cure her? The new group of HARP girls, along with one girl who doesn’t have any problems? Tragedy strikes River Bend, the ranch starts falling apart. * Some SAKE, enjoy *
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** I hope I'm getting this right: At the end of the 24th book, Sam is fourteen. So three years later, Sam would be seventeen, but her birthday is in the late spring, so if it's summer, that would make her eighteen. Cody would be three years old—how much fun! And if Jake is three years older than Sam, that would make him Twenty-three at the end September or October? So he would have been in collage for three years. (In my story he's going to collage for four years, because he's getting a business degree, but he had summer classes so he got his degree in three years.) As I see it, the Phantom Stallion series runs for about a year and a half. So tell me what you think about the running time. Also, I have been a fan of P.S. since 2005 and I have read the whole series five times and I'm working on my sixth. I am so in love with wild horses, hence, my user name.

**Lightning at Midnight**

**Chapter One**

**Sam Forster trotted down **the steps of the white ranch house. She stopped and looked up into the sky. A smile appeared on her face; the sky was blue with a few mares' tails floating high in the sky. _Perfect day_, Sam thought. She continued towards the barn.

Jennifer Kenworthy would soon be riding up on Silly; her palomino mare. They had been planning a ride for the past week, but some how something always got in the way. Like yesterday it was Buddy's first calf being born. Buddy's calf was almost identical to Buddy except that the calf had a white star on his forehead. But the calf, now named Rubin, was still the same gorgeous red brown as his mother.

The day before it was Blaze the Border collie's vet appointment. The seven year old dog had refused to come out from his hiding place under the cowboy's bunkhouse for his yearly shots. It had taken nearly an hour to drag the dog out and hold him down so Dr. Scott could give Blaze his shots.

And during the weekend, Dad had gone to Darton with Brynna and Gram to pick up groceries. Sam had been stuck at home babysitting her little brother, Cody. Who was three years old and acted worse than Ace or Tempest when they hadn't been ridden for a week.

_At this rate_, Sam thought, _that's how long it's been since I've ridden either of them_. But now, Sam had to make a choice: would she ride Ace or Tempest? Her eight year old gelding mustang or her three year old hand raised filly? _Hard choice,_ Sam thought as she stood in the dim barn, looking between the two horses.

Just then Sam heard the clip clop of hooves on the bridge. She cocked her head and listened harder. She thought that she could hear _two_ sets of hooves. She jogged to the bard door and looked out to see Jen riding in with Erin on a rose roan filly named Cherry.

Sam smiled and waved to her friends. She walked into the ranch yard to meet her friends half way.

"Hey, what's up?" Sam asked her friends.

"Not much, just enjoying a ride with Jen, and soon with you." Erin smiled before dismounting Cherry.

Cherry thrusted her head forward, making her nose touch Sam's forehead. Sam giggled and rubbed the filly's neck. The roan filly didn't have a single white making. Her mane and tail was just a slight bit darker than her plush pink coat.

Erin had short brown hair with died blonde streaks. Today she wore a brown t-shirt with a pink horse rearing and the words 'cowgirl up' under the horse. Her jeans had small holes in the knees and were so faded they were almost white.

"Are you ready to ride out?" Jen asked, she stayed on top of Silly.

Sam sighed and looked up at Jen. Then moaned, "No. I couldn't decide which horse to ride. They both need some work…" Sam smiled, an idea had just popped into her head, "But now I know that I'm going to ride Tempest. That way, it will be all girls."

She turned back towards the barn to groom Tempest before saddling her filly for the ride.

Jen winced, "Are you sure?"

Sam temporarily forgot the conversation, "Sure about what?"

Erin giggled and Jen rolled her eyes, "Isn't today supposed to be the day Jake comes home for the summer?"

Sam stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at Jen. "Um…" She looked up at the sun to determine what time it was before remembering she had strapped her watch on after taking a shower. It was just after noon and today was Friday, the first Friday of June. "I—Yeah, I think so. But, um, I don't know when he's getting here…"

"The legendary Jake that I've heard so much about is coming home today? From collage?" Erin asked. If she was a horse, her ear would have been so far forward the tips would almost touch.

"Yeah, that's the one." Jen rolled her eyes. She and Jake still didn't get along that entirely well.

"Jen, don't act like you haven't missed him in the littlest way." Sam scolded as she walked towards the barn.

"Well… I haven't. And Erin wouldn't know anything about him if you hadn't been yapping about him every time you thought about him." Jen sighed.

"I haven't yapped about him!" Sam yelped.

Erin giggled. She thought it was funny when Jen made a comment that Sam didn't necessarily agree with.

Sam led Tempest outside to the hitching rail and started grooming her filly. "Have I?"

"Every once in awhile. But not all the time." Jen smiled. She dismounted, dropped Silly's reins, and walked into the barn.

Sam stared after Jen in confusion. Then went back to grooming Tempest.

She dropped the brush back into the bucket full of grooming tools. Sam turned towards the barn, but stopped dead in her tracks. Jen had brought Tempest's tack out for her.

"Thanks Jen." Sam smiled as Jen plopped the gear into her arms.

"You can repay me later. Just hurry, I want to get back to riding."

Sam finished tacking Tempest and climbed into the saddle. "Let's go!" She kicked Tempest into a lope and headed for the bridge.

War Drum Flats was quite and outwardly peaceful. The air was filled with sagebrush and the sent of pine trees carried on the breeze.

After the gallop to War Drums Flats, Tempest had started limping as she walked toward the lake for a drink of muddy water. Sam halted the filly and climbed down. She took her time walking around to Tempest left hind leg. She ran her hand down the filly's leg to pick her leg up.

Wedged between the filly's frog and her horse shoe was a nail. Sam gasped, "Poor baby. No wonder you were limping."

Sam looked over at Jen, "Do you think you can get this out?"

"What is it?" Jen asked after ground tying her golden mare and knelt next to Sam. "Ouch, a nail. Wonder where she picked that up." Jen pinched her fingers together like tweezers. She grabbed the inch long nail and carefully pulled it out from its cramped place in the filly's hoof. "There. Keep an eye on that hoof; if she keeps limping you might have to get Dr. Scott over to look that over."

"Thanks Jen." Sam said hugging her friend. She took the nail and stuck it into her saddle bag, that way she could show Dad—and if need be, Dr. Scott—what had hurt her filly.

As soon as Sam picked up her reins, Tempest nodded her head three times before walking towards the water for a drink. Sam stood at the end of the reins watching, waiting for the filly to limp: she didn't.

Sam halted her filly and climbed back into the saddle before letting the filly take her drink. But because she was on top of the filly and not holding her back, Tempest walked into the muddy water until it reached her knees.

"Careful Sam, remember what happened last time Ace pulled that stunt?" Jen laughed at the memory.

Sam rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh along with Jen.

"What happened?" Erin shaded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at Sam.

"She let Ace wade into the lake and he didn't want to come out. Soon enough, Jake comes loping up to 'save the day'." Jen laughed, "He tried to lasso Ace, but the cowpony is too smart for his own good. Ace ducked his head and the loop went over Sam's head. Jake pulled Sam off Ace and into the water."

Erin's eyes opened wide as her mouth dropped open. She covered her mouth, but it didn't smother her laugh or hide her gleaming green eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just the funniest thing in the world." Sam smile as she rolled her eyes. She thought it was funny, but it wasn't _that_ funny.

"Just another Jake story." Jen smiled a gloating smile at Sam.

"Hey! That's not fair, you brought that one up!" Sam yelped. "Besides, Tempest is a good girl. She'll listen to me, won't ya baby?"

"Whatever." Jen said sarcastically.

Erin sighed, she had just stopped laughing. She stuck her foot into Cherry's stirrup and pulled herself back into the saddle. "Alright, I'm ready to go back. How about you?"

"Yeah," Sam smiled as she asked Tempest to walk out of the water, "Let's race!"

"Hey! No fair! You got a head start!" Jen yelled as she kicked Silly into a gallop.

Sam let her now graying filly's mane whip her face. She looked over her shoulder at her friends. She looked up into the sky and laughed. The sun felt so good on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom Stallion, it belongs to Terri Farely!**

**Claimer: I do own Erin, Jordan, and Royce. Along with the new HARP girls and the new horse.**

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Chapter Two**

**Sam, Jen, and Erin** rode abreast into the ranch yard at River Bend Ranch.

Underneath Sam, Tempest's sides heaved. She had just raced from War Drums Flats to the bridge at River Bend. Of course the filly had beaten both Silly and Cherry, Jen and Erin's mares. The dark gray filly had more energy than both the palomino and the rose roan mare.

Sam looked over at Jen, and then past Jen, to match glances with Erin, "that was fun."

"Yeah, but I don't know why I try to keep up with that filly. Daughter of the Phantom… she just can't be beat." Jen sighed and shook her head.

"You guys still believe in the legend horse? It's just a story." Erin laughed.

Jen and Sam looked at each other; together they looked at Erin and said, "No he's not."

"Yeah he—" Erin was cut off.

"The Phantom is Sam's colt gone wild. That's why they have a bond." Jen said as if it was obvious.

"Oh, that story!" Erin hit her forehead and laughed, "I totally spaced! Sorry Sam."

"It's ok." Sam smiled, "the less people know, the better." She looked down at her right wrist and a soft smile graced her lips. The silver horse hair bracelet seemed to glow in the sunset's dimming light.

"Well, thanks for riding all the way over here for a ride." Sam said to Jen.

"No problem. I had fun." Jen dismounted and tied Silly to the hitching rail.

"Me too," Erin climbed off Cherry and stroked the mare's roan neck. "Next time, we have to have a sleep over in the bunkhouse."

"Yeah, that would be fun." Sam said as she led her horse into the barn. She spent a few minutes grooming Tempest before leading her back outside to the ten acre pasture. She released the filly and watched as the filly loped over to her mother and touched noses.

Sam imaged the filly telling Sunny all about her ride. And the Dark Sunshine bobbled her head, almost as if the two horses had just proved her point. After all, they did have minds, and they could communicate with each other. _So why couldn't they be talking to each other_?

She had been standing there, watching the horses, for about ten minutes. She turned around and was about to walk back to the barn but she stopped when she noticed Silly and Cherry both tied to the hitching rail and both girls, Jen and Erin, were watching her with their arms crossed.

"I thought you two were going home?" Sam asked her two friends, surprised they had stuck around for so long.

"Nope." Jen smiled and put her hands on her hips. She looked over her shoulder as a Chevy and a Ford truck drove over the bridge. Jen turned back to Sam and smirked.

_They know something I don't_, Sam thought. But she recognized both trucks. The Ford belonged to Jen's parents and the Chevy belonged to the Ely's. But what were they doing here?

Rumbling came from the bridge, and Sam saw the Slocum's vehicle drive over the bridge right after Trudy Allen's orange truck. Trudy and Ryan?

Sam cocked her head as she looked around the ranch yard. When had there been a table in the middle of the yard? And a pile of fire wood?

"What's going on?" Sam crossed her arms and leaned her head close to Jen's.

"A surprise welcome home party for Jake." Jen expanded the sentence a little too much, making the 'for' longer than it needed to be.

"How come it's not at the Ely's?" Sam wondered out loud.

"Because I thought of it." Gram scrambled up to Sam and handed her a bowl of egg salad. "Help me set this table with food, Samantha."

"Ok, Gram." Sam smiled as she took a deep breath of the egg salad. Just thinking of the potluck of food made her stomach growl.

"Jordan and Royce are here!" Erin jumped up and down as she pointed to Royce's red mustang.

"Cool!" Sam yelled toward her friend. Erin had a huge crush on Royce. Sam didn't blame her, with his shaggy blonde hair and basketball jock body, he was pretty cute.

Jordan bounced up next to Sam and wrapped her arm around Sam's shoulder in a one-armed hug. She wore tan cargo pants with a gray-green t-shirt that had a soccer ball on the front with orange barb-wire wound around the ball. Her long dark brown hair was pulled into a messy pony tail with wisps of hair lining her face and gold hoop earrings with stars hanging from them. But the first thing Sam noticed was her black high-top sneakers which made her already tall friend look even taller.

"Wow, you dressed up." Sam laughed.

Jordan flipped her hair and shrugged, "Yeah, you know. With all these cute Ely boys around, I thought, 'what the hey!'"

Sam smiled and half laughed at her friend, "They all have girlfriends, Jordan."

"I know. I was just kidding." Jordan blinked her mascara covered eyelashes. "But you never know which cute cowboys might show up."

"Mhm." Sam nodded, the only problem with that was there wasn't any cute cowboys around that weren't taken. To bad Jordan didn't know that.

Royce walked up with his hands in his pockets. He wore black sport-shorts with a gray t-shirt whose sleeves had been hacked off. His blonde hair covered his forehead and the ends were just barely in his eyes. His shoes were skater sneakers with the laces undone. He looked up from the ground with a slight smile. "Hey Sam."

Sam reviewed what he was wearing and decided jeans and a t-shirt that smelt like horse probably wasn't the best thing to wear to Jake's party.

"Hi. I'll be right back." Sam jogged towards the house, ducked through the door, and run up the stairs to her bedroom. She pulled out a white pare of shorts and a red spaghetti strap tank top. She grabbed her sneakers off her bedroom floor and pulled them onto her feet before jogging down stairs.

Sam was about to duck out to the busy kitchen without any new chores, when Cody tugged on her shorts.

"Sammy, please?" Cody looked up at her with big puppy-dog eyes.

Sam looked up at Brynna, asking what he wanted silently.

"He wants you to take him to see the horses." Brynna gave a shrugging plea. "Please Sam? He's in the way in here."

Sam rolled her eyes when Brynna wasn't looking. But she nodded and picked Cody up even though her friends were waiting for her outside.

"Where to first?" Sam asked her little brother.

"Horses!" Cody clapped his hand and then pointed.

"Ok, ok." Sam sighed as she looked for her friends among the crowd of people gathered at the tables and around the soon to be bonfire. "Here we go." Sam set Cody down on the top rail of the pasture fence.

"There you are!" Jen said bounding up next to Sam and Cody. "Where did you run off too? Never mind that! Mrs. Ely just got a call, Jake is on his way!"

"He's just now leaving the collage?" Sam asked, maybe this party wouldn't be a party after all… It was nearly eight, the sun was almost down, and the drive from Jake's collage was six hours long. Sam didn't thing she wanted to stay up that late waiting for Jake to get here. Two in the morning was too late when she planned to get up at six the next morning.

"No, no! That would be silly! He has about fifteen—make that five minutes before he get here!" Jen said practically jumping up and down.

"I thought you hadn't missed Jake?" Sam giggled.

"I haven't!" Jen let her shoulders drop and her knees bend a little. "I've missed see you and Jake flirt!"

Sam's mouth fell open in surprise, her eyes wide. "We haven't—we've never flirted!"

Jen shook her head, "Simple, simple minded Sam… Of course you haven't noticed the way Jake drools over you…"

"He has not!" Sam punched Jen's shoulder, but a smile slit her lips. "I hate your teasing."

"No you don't." Jen said wrapping her arm around Sam's shoulder, "You lo-o-o-v-e my teasing!"

"Ok, I do." Sam rested her head on Jen's shoulder, and then looked into her best friend's eyes, "But not about Jake flirting with me!"

"Don't you remember? You were eavesdropping on you Dad and Brynna and Jake wrapped his hand around our waist!" Jen looked up and wrapped her arms around herself, a look of pretend dreaminess on her face. "And then there was that time when you wrapped our arms around Jake while riding double on Witch."

Sam smiled and slapped Jen's upper arm, "Stop it!"

"And all those times you pretended to be mad at him—" Jen laughed hard when Sam hit her for the third time.

"I never pretended to be mad at Jake!" Sam crossed her arms and turned away from Jen. She watched the horses and then her eye drifted to Cody's back.

Cody slowly turned and climbed off the fence and started running on wobbly legs towards Brynna as a new red truck pulled to a stop in front of all the people.

Sam's eyes scanned the truck for any sign of who it might belong too. The dark silhouette inside the truck's cab didn't give anything away. That is, until it bent down and picked up a Stetson off the passenger seat and pulled it on before stepping out of the truck.

_Jake,_ Sam thought as the dark haired man stepped out of the truck, _he cut his hair again._ Jake's black Shoshone hair just barely stuck out beneath his black Stetson. _At lest he still looks like himself_, Sam smiled to herself. He wore his faded jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt under a gray button down shirt.

Maxine Ely rushed to give her son a hug. Soon everyone was gathered around Jake, smothering him with hugs and questions. The only people hanging back were Sam, Jen, Ryan, Erin, Jordan, and Royce.

Sam took a deep breath, and then stumbled forward. She looked over her shoulder at Jen who was trying to look like she hadn't pushed Sam. "Jen! I know you did that! Don't you dare look at me that way! JEN!"

Jen slowly turned her head back to Sam. A sheepish smile appeared on her face, but she wasn't looking at Sam, she was looking about Sam's head.

Sam crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Jen had to be the most annoying friend in the whole world. Sam turned on her heel to see whatever Jen was claiming to see.

Her eyes stopped dead center in the middle of Jake's chest. Slowly she looked up to meet his eyes. Her breath was taken away by surprise and her heart was pounding with shock.

Jake looked the same with only one difference; he looked older, more mature.

"Hey Brat."

**So there you have it, the second chappy! Hope you liked it!**

**And please, R &R is much wanted/liked. Tell me what you think, honestly.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom Stallion, Terri Farley does.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I know I had fun writing it!**

**God'srider: Thanks for that, I looked up the words and it turns out you were right. I'll make sure I fix that in all my other stories!**

**Now enjoy chapter three, and R&R!**

**Chapter Three**

**Jake used the old nickname** he had given her almost five years ago. Something about his tone, something about him just being there made Sam wish no one else was around.

Sam took a quick glance around. All of her friends had abandoned her and everyone that had been swarming Jake was now off doing something else. Sam smiled and jumped up, wrapping her arms around Jake's neck in a hug.

He staggered back a step, surprised, and then hugged her back. Jake released Sam and she took a step back. He nudged his hat up and looked her over for a second too long. He had a habit of doing that.

"It's been a long time." Was all he managed to say.

Sam smiled and shook her head, _typical Jake_. "Yeah, I guess it's been awhile."

"I see that filly has grown up real nice. She works under a saddle yet?" Jake leaned on the fence avoiding eye contact.

"For about a year now." Sam told him. She climbed the fence and sat on the top rail, finally above Jake's head. "She's three."

"It's been that long?" Jake looked up, almost startled.

"Yeah." Sam looked away from Jake. She found Jordan, Erin, and Royce all watching her and Jake. Although they tried to make it seem like they weren't eavesdropping.

"Sam?" Jake touched her hand.

Sam turned her head to look down at Jake. He was staring at her hand, rubbing his fingers on the top of her hand. "Yeah?"

Jake looked up. "Do you remember that bonfire when Cody was born?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well… I—"

"Hey Sam! Come on! We got marshmallows!" Royce waved a stick with three golden brown marshmallows on it.

"I'll be right there!" Sam smiled at her friend, and then looked back at Jake. He had something like discuss on his face. "You were saying?"

Jake quickly whipped whatever he was feeling off his face. "I'm done with collage. I took summer classes, so I've got my degree. And I was hoping… that we could start were we left off…?"

Sam smiled, "Holding hands? Sure, Jake, I'll walk to the bonfire with you."

"No, that's… not what I meant… I've always like you, Sam." Jake kicked the ground with the toe of his boot.

Sam sighed and rolled her eyes at his shyness. "Jake, I like you too. But I just finished my senior year of high school. As soon as summer is over, I'll be going to collage. What if we, just let this flow and not do anything drastic?"

Jake's head popped up. He looked into Sam's eyes, trying to find something that might not be there. He nodded slowly.

Sam smiled took a step closer to Jake, stood on her tip toes, and kissed the tip of his nose. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand before skipping over to the bonfire. But she couldn't put his expression out of her mind.

He had looked shocked. But then the faintest smile had appeared on his face the second before she had dragged him off. And once again, she marveled at his 'mustang' eyes. Wild yet tame, Mystified but sure, frantic and calm; all at the same time.

Sam had introduced Jake to her new friends. He seemed the like Erin, but he was dawdling with Jordan, and almost rude to Royce. Probably because Royce was so comfortable around Sam and her friends. He didn't seem to notice that he was putting his arm around Sam, Jordan, Erin, and Jen. This was making Jake uneasy around Royce.

Sam looked over at Jake. He didn't look sad, alone, or depressed, he just looked confused and baffled by all her friend's energy. She looked at her friends; they did seem to have a lot of energy for no apparent reason.

She scooted closer to Jake, "are you having fun?"

Jake nodded; he seemed to be fixed on the dancing flames.

Sam waved her hand in front of Jake's face. He shook his head and looked up at her with a gawking face.

"What?"

Sam giggled, "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah." Jake pushed his feet out, way from the flames, and leaned back on the hay bale Sam was sitting on. He pulled his black Stetson down to cover his face before crossing his arms and ankles.

Sam smile and let him sit there. Soon, she got tired of watching him do nothing on a clear night sky. So she smiled slyly, set herself up in a different position, and then swept Jake's hat clean off his head.

The black Stetson flew through the air. Sam barely had to move from her place on the bale of hay to catch the flying hat. And once she did, she didn't stick around to be tackled by Jake.

Sam jumped up and ran towards the barn. She skidded to a stop next to Jake's red pick-up truck. She looked over her shoulder to see Jake tottering towards her in his black leather cowboy boots. She laughed; it had been a good day for her to pick sneakers over boots.

She stuck her tong out at Jake and wiggled her fingers next to her head. She stopped and leaned against the truck and pulled his hat on over her eyes like he had been doing just seconds before.

She lifted the corner of Jake's hat and jumped. He was nearly upon her. She pushed away from the truck and started to run around the truck.

Sam was nearly to the front of the truck when Jake popped his head around the corner and grinned his tomcat grin. She skidded to a stop and ran back around the truck. She stopped at the tail end of the truck, threw the hat inside the truck's bed and climbed in after it. She pulled an old faded blanket over her head and hoped Jake didn't see her at first glance.

Knowing him, he did. Quietly he put down the draw door, and then grabbed Sam's ankle. She let out a screech as she slide forward, hat in hand.

"You better of not hurt my hat!" Jake chuckled as he climbed into the bed of the truck with Sam. He took his hat and dropped it on top of his shining black blue hair. "Now get over here."

Sam giggled as she sat up. The world would fall apart if he didn't have his black Stetson, she was sure of it. She sighed and scooted to the edge of the truck's draw door, next to Jake. She leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up, into the sky.

For the first time that night, she realized how much she had missed Jake. She also found out just who beautiful the night sky was.

Cloudless and full of bright starts, the deep blue black sky looked like it went of for ever. As she looked at the stars, she followed them to the purple edged sky that met the Calico Mountains. Somewhere in those mountains, the Phantom was looking up at the same sky, the same stars.

Sam wondered if he was thinking of her. She wondered when the next time she would see the moonbeams hit her gray horse's hide turning it the most radiant silver.

She looked down at the bracelet on her wrist for the second time that day. She twirled the bracelet around and around, wishing she could touch her horse again.

Sam's head whipped up, she slide off the truck's draw door. She felt Jake's hand reach out for her's; he didn't want her to go. Sam trotted to the bridge and closed her eyes as her left hand rested on the bridge's side rail.

Somewhere in the Calico Mountains, Sam had heard a far off call. A melody note from a wild horse's call had met her ears. She basked in the waves of another call. The beautiful song could only become from one horse: her colt grown up and gone wild; _the Phantom_.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Me: Sam, what do you think you'll be doing tomorrow?**

**Sam: I don't know... Guess I could hang out with my horses... or Jake...?**

**Me: What about your mustang stallion?**

**Sam: Oh, yeah! Thanks for the idea! I've been missing the Phantom. I really hope that I'll be able to see him... I mean hearing him is nice, but it's not the same thing as touching his beautiful silver silk hide.**

**Me: I know what you mean.**

**Sam: You do? You've touched a wild horse?**

**Me: *hesitates* No... but I have a pretty good understanding...**

**Sam: *crosses arms* You aren't another fan that stocks me and my horse are you?**

**Me: N-n-noo.... *Blushes, then turns towards the readers and nods quickly and hard***

**_R&R_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom Stallion... Sadly...**

**Claimer: But the plot and the new characters are totally mine! *Insert evil laugh of your choice***

**Sorry it's been awhile... Fanfic. wouldn't let me post a chapter, they were re-modeling or something? Anyways, hope you Ph.S. fans like this chappy! Also, if you have any ideas how Sam and Jake can spend some SAKE time together without any sexual stuff, let me know. I'm working on writing chapter eight, but I'm kinda stuck. So yeah... on with the story!**

**Chapter Four**

"**Sam, wake up."** Brynna gently shook Sam's shoulder, "the sun is up and you should be too. Besides that, I don't know how to turn your alarm off."

Sam rubbed her eyes with her finger tips. She looked at her bedside clock, 7:39. She closed her eyes and sighed. Then she sat up in a hurry, slammed her fist on the clock to shut it up and pulled on a pare of jeans. She had slept in a navy blue tank top and just grabbed her black sweater from the floor. She pulled it over her arms as she jogged down the stairs bare foot.

"I slept in!" Sam almost yelped when she busted through the kitchen door.

Cougar sat in her chair at the table. He licked his paw before jumping down and pawing at the screen door. Sam opened the door as she slipped on her black flip flops. She pulled her sweater close and stepped through the door.

For June, the morning was chilled. A thin layer of frozen dew lay on the grass inside the pasture. Blaze ducked under the pasture rails and trotted through the pasture, ducked under the rails again and then trotted towards her, wagging his tail.

Sam took a deep breath of morning air. Sweet and crisp, the air was filled with sage. She closed her eyes and listened to the quite of the ranch yard.

Ace's upset neigh pierced the morning quiet. He leaned his glowing bay neck over the top fence rail and nodded his head.

"Hey, Ace! I'll be back to ride you, after I get something to eat, ok?" Sam smooched to the bay gelding before turning to head back inside. Normally, she wasn't hungry in the mornings, but she hadn't eaten much for dinner last night so that entitled her for a little something now, didn't it?

Sam opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She twisted the lid off and smelt the milk before pouring herself a tall glass of pure white milk. She grabbed two apples for the basket in the middle of the table, cut one in half and bit into the other one. She chugged her milk and rinsed out the glass before slipping her boots on and heading back outside.

She was glad Gram hadn't seen her breakfast. Gram would have made her take some toast with her as well. Sam really didn't feel like anything but an apple anyway.

She ran up stairs and changed into a clean pare of jeans and an orange t-shirt with her tan sweater over the top. She pulled her boots on and headed down the stairs.

Sam crossed the ranch yard and held her palm flat for Ace to sniff. He nudged her hand and then reached for her apple.

"Nope!" Same laughed, "This one is mine. Here you can have half." She fed the gelding half of the apple she had cut. She watched as he drooled with pleasure before rubbing his star hidden by his forelock.

"I'll be right back boy." Sam told the gelding as she headed towards the barn. She entered the dim barn, flipped the light on and walked to Tempest's stall. The filly still had her head in her manger so Sam had to coax her to take the apple. "Here pretty girl. A nice, sweet juicy apple, just for you!"

The dark gray filly lifted her head, blinked at Sam and went back to eating her hay.

"Guess I can't get you to love anything but your hay. Here, you can eat it when you're done with the hay. But I'm not standing here all day. I've got things to do you know." Sam tossed the apple into the filly's manger and took a bite of her own apple.

She turned and leaned against the filly's stall door. Not surprised at all to see Jake watching her from the barn door. Sam too another bite of her apple and nodded her head at Jake, "What do you want?"

"Busy huh?" Jake said through grinning teeth. "With what?"

Sam swallowed her bite of apple and walked towards him. "Brynna and I are going to be looking over the new girls' application for the HARP program later today."

"What about right now?"

"I'm eating."

"I can see that." Jake rolled his eyes at her, "When you're done?"

"Ace and I have an appointment with a herd of wild horses and a beautiful palomino mare." Sam said walking away from Jake.

"You're not thinking about tracking that stud's herd again, are you?" Jake followed closely behind.

"Thinking about it? Naw, thought about it? Yep. Going to do it? Yes, and no one is going to stop me. Including you, Jake Ely." Sam taunted him.

"Whatever." Jake shrugged and headed back towards Witch, his black mare. "Just thought you'd like to meet my new horse."

"What horse?" Sam asked. She had to jog to keep up, "Jake!"

"Not mine, really, I'm just training her. Me and your Dad." Jake was getting back at Sam for taunting him.

"Her? Where is she?" Sam asked, practically begging.

"Not here yet. Walt went to go pick her up." Jake shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulder up to his ears. "She's a sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail. Pure Thoroughbred."

Sam heard the awe in Jake's voice which meant the filly he would be training was probably worth a lot. Jake's praise was often underlined as a common fragment of a sentence, but it was obvious that he had some admiration for this filly by the way his eyes lit up when he talked about her. This was something to look into, Sam thought smiling.

"I'd love to see her, but Silly comes first." Sam said as she walked into the barn to get Ace's halter.

"Silly? Jen's _loco_ palomino? What are you talking about?" Jake asked confusion in his voice.

Sam replayed what had happed the night before as she told Jake, "When Jen came to say good bye to me last night, she said that Ryan had offered to drive her home. I volunteered to pony Silly back home as soon as the sun rose. It's obvious that the sun is up, and that I am tacking up Ace for a morning ride."

Jake crossed his arms as he watched Sam tack up Ace. "So you're not going to track the Phantom?"

"I didn't say that." Sam pulled the clinch tight and looked at Jake, "I'm going to pony Silly home and then I'm going to gallop Ace towards War Drum Flats. If the Phantom's band is there, I'll take a few moments to say hello before heading back home to see this Thoroughbred filly of yours."

Jake nodded his head. Then narrowed his eyes as he watched Sam put her foot into the stirrup.

Sam started to bounce before swinging her leg over her bay gelding's back when the saddle slipped sideways about three inches. She wanted to growl at Ace for pulling such a trick, but all she did was pull her foot out of the stirrup and push the saddle back into its proper place before tapping Ace's belly to make him release the air in his stomach.

She slid into the saddle and looked down at Jake. "Dad took Brynna, Gram, and Cody to pick up the new filly and the cowboys have already ridden out for the day. So you'll be here all alone. Don't get into any trouble."

Jake sneered at her. And Sam knew what he was thinking. She was the one that would get into trouble, not him. She wondered when was the last time Jake got into trouble that cost him something. Sam shrugged to herself, it didn't matter.

"You," Jake pointed at Sam, "stay out of trouble."

"Yeah, yeah. You sound like Dad." Sam said flatly as she kicked Ace into a trot, Silly following right behind.

Sam led the palomino mare through the golden gate at Harmony Ranch. Ace trotted down the path towards Jen's loge cabin, he was such a smart horse.

She dismounted from Ace, tied him to the gold ring at the hitching rail and jogged up to the cabin's front door. Sam knocked on the door and looked back over her shoulder at Ace and Silly. The mare looked at home while Ace watched her and stomped his hoof in irritation. He seemed to know who's land he was on, even though Linc hadn't stepped foot on the ranch for at lest two years.

Sam crossed her arms over her black sweater. No one seemed to be home.

Then the door opened and a preppy Jen appeared. "Hey Sam! Thanks so much for bring Silly back! You're the best!"

"Gosh Jen, you seem a little hyped up." Sam looked her best friend over.

Jen wore a neon pink tank top and black short shorts. Her feet were bare and her blonde hair wasn't in its usual pig-tailed braid. It was lose over her shoulders. "Yeah, I know. I had the best time with Ryan last night and haven't gotten around to changing!"

"You were wearing that when Ryan took you home?" Sam asked confused. She remembered Jen wearing her bright orange sweater with red corduroy pants.

"No. After Ryan brought me home, I changed into this for my last minutes chores. Ryan helped me do them and then after that, we went on a midnight ride." Jen sighed she had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"And where did you go on your ride?" Sam giggled.

"Up to Aspen Creek." Jen leaned against her log house and twirled her hair. "We sat and talked. And then Ryan walked down to the creek and splashed me. I splashed him back and soon we were drenched. We crawled up onto the shore and I brushed his hair out of his eyes." Jen got an evilly excited look on her face that Sam had never seen before. "And then he kissed me."

Sam covered her mouth to try to smother her hysterical laughing giggles. She leaned back and sighed, "WOW. Sounds like you had a lot of fun."

"I did." Jen smiled and walked with Sam to get her horse. "So how was your night with Jake?"

"What night? He left right after you and Ryan." Sam asked confused.

"That's weird. Because Ryan drove by your house earlier this morning and saw you two coming out of the barn. He said it looked like you had just gotten up." Jen smiled slyly.

Sam smiled and smacked Jen's arm. "He came into work early, you weirdo. And I had just woken up, but I was saddling Ace so I could ride over here. He just wouldn't stop yapping, which is why I didn't get here until…" Sam looked at her watch, "eight forty-nine."

"How late did you sleep in?"

"About seven thirty." Sam rolled her eyes.

"Wow." Jen said shaking her head.

"Yeah, and if you don't mind, I'd like to start back towards home. I'm supposed to be home to see Jake's new trainee." Sam said pulling herself into the saddle.

"Ooh. And who will that be, you?" Jen asked.

"Ha! Never in a million years, Jen. So shut up." Sam said turning Ace towards the gate. "See you later, Jenny!"

"Don't call me that!" Sam heard Jen yell at her back.

**Hey, I just wanted to let you all know the new/hip/cool thing. You all know lol and rofl, right? Well, introduceing ROLF!!! Which means.... Rolling on Laughing Floor. Which makes you laugh more. You know the feeling. I know you do.**

**Me: ...So... Jake, what do you think of Sam going out to see the Phantom?**

**Jake: *eyes me with a blank face* I think... I don't know you.**

**Me: *laughs* You're right. You don't know me. But please, just answer the question. This interview is quickly going down the drain.**

**Jake: Fine. I think she's crazy.**

**Me: How can you say that?!?!?!**

**Jake: *Shrugs***

**Me: Ok, we'll work on that, I promise fellow views! Next chapter, Jake's real interview!**

**_R&R_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Sam watched the group** of forty mares and foals wander around the lake's edge grazing and drinking the muddy water.

"Wow boy, you're herd has sure gotten big." Sam whispered into the wind.

The sky had turned dark as soon as Sam had reached War Drum Flats. Now the wind had risen from a slight breeze to a light wind that was starting to get annoying. It kept blowing her red brown hair into her eyes even though she had pulled it into a pony tail. The air smelt like rain with a mix of sage brush and pine.

Sam jumped when Ace threw his head up at a loud bang of thunder crashed above her head. "We'd better head for home Ace," Sam said standing up and brushing the dirt off the seat of her pants, "it's going to start pouring on us if we don't."

She was about to pick up Ace's reins when a nose nudged her back. Sam slowly turned around to see the bright brown eyes of her long lost horse.

"Zanzibar." Sam felt tears growing in her eyes. It had been so long since she had seen her horse, even from a far away glance. "I've missed you."

Sam reached her hand out towards her silver coated horse. She remembered all the times silent had scarred the stallion into running away. She tried to think of a song to sing, one that stood for their relationship or of the West. She knew what song to sing; _Alive_ from the movie _Flicka._

_Stuck in a world, no longer turning_

_Always a girl, waiting for something_

_To many days, walkin' round sleeping_

_Open my eyes, I'm tried of dreaming_

_I wanna run with reckless emotion_

_Find out if love is a size of emotion_

_Even if I crash down, burn out_

_At least I'm gonna know what it's like to feel alive_

The wild stallion nodded his head. He took a step forward and rested his mighty head on Sam's shoulder.

Sadly, Sam couldn't remember all the words, but that didn't matter. She sung the parts that she felt were real to her life.

She was so moved, so touched by her horse, she didn't realize the clouds had started pouring the water, they had stored up, out in the form of rain drops.

_They think they know me_

_But how can they know me_

_I'm getting to know myself_

_I'm gonna be somebody with a story to tell_

_I wanna run with reckless emotion_

_Find out if love is a size of emotion_

_Even when I crash down, burn out_

_At least I'm gonna know what it's like_

_I wanna feel until my heart brakes wide open_

_I wanna blaze like a fire that's burnin'_

_Even when I crash down, burn out_

_At lest I'm gonna know what it's like to feel alive_

Sam smiled. At this moment she couldn't feel more alive.

Ace nickered behind her. He trotted up and touched noses with the mighty stallion. He seemed to rub his forehead on the stallion's forehead. But then Ace bowed his head and backed away. As if he was telling Sam to say goodbye so they could get out of the wind and rain.

Sam sighed and stepped towards her horse. "Hey boy. I've missed you. I—I know it's been for the best, but I don't know how long I can stand without seeing you. So just make it a little more often, if you can. I don't have to touch you, just see you. I love you, my beautiful Zanzibar."

The stallion nodded his head as if saying the same thing back to her. He touched his nose to her forehead before backing away.

The rain was pouring hard now, and Ace was getting impatient with her. He pawed his foot in the dirt that was starting to turn to mud.

"Bye." Sam's words were so quite she was sure neither Ace nor the wild white stallion had heard her over the pounding rain and thunder clap.

Sam climbed into the saddle and watched as the Phantom turned on his heel and herded his band up the mountain side and through the maze of deer paths to his secret hideout.

Ace started to get restless and kicked out his heels in a buck.

"Hey, just because I'm watching your old herd leader gallop off doesn't mean you can get sassy." Sam told her gelding, "Let's go."

Sam let Ace choose his pace the whole way home. A light fog had rolled in over the _playa _desert floor. Ace loped most of the way, slowing only when he hit a muddy patch of clay like mud.

Ace kept his head low as the lightning flashed to their left. The rain was pounding down so hard; Sam couldn't see four yards in front of Ace's nose.

"Jake is so going to kill me." Sam sighed after she looked at her watch. It was half past noon; although she hadn't told Jake how long she was going to be out, it shouldn't have taken four and a half hours to ride to Jen, check War Drum Flats, and then head for home.

She was glad that her Dad wasn't expected to arrive back at the house until at lest two, but with the muddy roads who knew how much more time he would take to get home. So she wouldn't get in parental trouble. Only Jake trouble; and he couldn't do anymore to her than scold her.

Sam had been so busy thinking for away to avoid Jake's tormenting screams she hadn't noticed Ace's worrying nays.

"What's wrong boy?" Sam patted her gelding's neck. She had been worried so maybe that worry had pasted on to her horse. She tried to calm herself down so her gelding could get back to concentrating on where to place his hooves.

It happed so fast, Sam had to rethink what had just happed. Ace had been walking towards the bridge; she knew that because it had just come into view. Then the gelding's off hind hoof had slipped on a patch of slippery clay; sliding his feet out from underneath him.

Sam had lost grip on the reins and had slid right out of the saddle and had hit the mud with a thump. She had curled into a ball as she watched the bay gelding work for his footing. In the end, he had ended up on his right side, splattering mud all the way over to where Sam lay.

Combined with the coldness from being sopping wet and the warm muddy ground, Sam had fallen asleep. Only to be awoken by Ace nuzzling her shoulder. She touched the horse's nose and struggled to sit up. Her ankle hurt really badly, but she had to make sure her gelding was ok.

She staggered to her feet and ran her hands up and down Ace's legs. Slight heat came from the gelding's left front leg, but she didn't think it was bad enough for her not to be able to ride her horse into the ranch yard.

Sam climbed into the wet and muddy saddle and Ace stepped out without limping. It took maybe ten minutes to reach the ranch yard. She sneezed as she pointed Ace towards the barn. She had to avoid Jake for as long as possible.

Once inside the barn, she flicked the dim light on and scrambled down from her horse. Stripped the gelding of his tack, rubbed the mud out of his coat and released the bay gelding back into the corral off the barn.

She winced at the pain in her ankle as she walked out of the barn towards the porch light. She didn't care if Jake yelled at her, she had to sit down and pull her boot off her aching ankle.

Sam tried hard not to limp as she walked through the puddles in the ranch yard. She sighed as she seated herself onto a padded chair her Gram sat in when she couldn't sleep.

"Where have you been?" Jake jumped at her, arms crossed, jaw set.

Sam rolled up her pant leg and wince as she pulled her right boot off her foot. She didn't mean to ignore Jake, but she thought her ankle was more important. Besides that, she was sure if she started talking she would soon be balling.

Jake narrowed his eyes as he stared at her ankle. "What happened, Sam?"

She winced as Jake crouched down and touched her ankle. "Ace's hind legs slid under him. He's ok, but I slide out of the saddle." Her first fall in at lest a year, "I think Ace stepped on me while he was trying to regain his footing."

"It hurt?" Jake looked up to meet Sam's eyes.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. Sam could feel tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Let's get some ice on it." Jake stood up and started for the door.

"Jake?" Sam looked after him, when he stopped she went on, "Can you bring me my flannel pajama pants, the blue tank on my bed, and my black sweater?"

Jake nodded and headed into the white ranch house. He came out less than five minutes later juggling the clothing she had asked for and a few other things. "Here, go inside the kitchen and change. Come back out when you're done."

"Thanks Jake." Sam managed to say without too much emotion. She limped into the kitchen, and shut the screen door behind her. She hopped to the fridge and struggled out of her cold, wet, and muddy jeans. She sighed when she pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped in onto the floor.

She pulled her gray plaid flannel pants on and sighed as their warmth surrounded her legs. Sam pulled her navy blue tank top over her damp bra before pulling on her warm black sweater that ended at her hips. She picked up a double layered blanket that Gram had left in the corner of the kitchen before stepping back outside.

Jake stood up from the chair Sam had been sitting in and nodded her towards the comfy two person bench.

Sam did as she was told, "I'm not a dog Jake."

Jake snorted and helped Sam laid the blanket over her legs. "Here." He shoved two aspirin pills at her along with a glass of water.

After Sam had swallowed the pills and chugged the glass of water Jake took her injured leg and started running his hands up and down her ankle.

Sam winced but was more curious than she was in pain, "What are you doing?"

"Seeing if it's broke or sprained." Jake said quietly.

"That hurts." Sam told him as he squeezed a sore spot.

"Sorry," Jake had said but he didn't sound a bit apologetic. "I'm just going to put some ice on this. It's just sprained."

"I figured." Sam growled and rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't have been able to walk if it was broken."

"Don't get sassy Sam." Jake looked at her with cold eyes. For the first time in years, Sam could see the fear that had been there while he had waited helplessly for her to return.

"I'm sorry." Sam whispered and looked down at her hands and she really did mean it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Sam had closed her** eyes, her head leaning on Jake's shoulder. She was still cold and the chilliness made her even more tried than she should have been.

As soon as Jake had sat down next to her, Sam had looked at her watch. It had been twenty minutes until five. She must have fallen asleep in the mud and had slept for longer than she had first thought.

Then the phone had rung and Jake had answered the phone. It had been Dad, and Jake told him what had happed and he, of course, had wanted to talk to Sam.

She told him that she was alright. Her ankle was sore, but that was all. Her dad had told her to listen to Jake and to get some rest. They wouldn't be home until eight, the road had just opened up and there was a lot of traffic.

Now, she was just about ready to drift off into sleep. And the weird thing was, she was leaning on Jake's shoulder. Sam was so tried that she didn't care if she laid on his lap and slept until Tuesday.

Jake was stiff and motionless. He watched Sam and felt her heart beat and heard her soft breathing.

Sam felt the sudden rise and fall of Jake's chest, as if he had just sighed. Then the brightness of headlights hit her face and she peered out through her squinted eyelids. She sat up strait and looked at her watch. It was almost nine.

Gram took her quick steps towards Sam and Jake. She set her arm load of bags down on the porch and started talking to Jake.

"Thank you Jake for watching over her until we got home. Would you like a ride home? Witch is free to stay the night in the pasture."

"Thank you Grace for the offer. I think I'll have to take it up tonight." Jake told Gram.

Wyatt strode up to Jake and shook his hand. "Thanks Jake. Come by about seven and you can start on that new filly."

"Will do Wyatt." Jake smiled as Walt patted his back. He waved to Sam and followed Gram towards the Buick.

"Hey Sam. How are you feeling?" Brynna asked.

"Fine. Tried, and my ankle hurts when I stand on it. But that's all." Sam said starting to pull the blanket off her legs to head inside.

"Let me help you." Dad put his arm around Sam's waist to steady her. He led her inside and up the stairs to her bedroom. "Get a good night's sleep Sam. I have a feeling that filly will need a little affection from a girl's hand when Jake's done with her."

"Ok Dad." Sam yawned as she laid down in her bed and pulled the thick covers up over her head.

It had been a long day for her. Long and crazy. Jen and Silly, meeting the Phantom again, falling off Ace, nearly breaking her ankle.

Dizziness soon swept over Sam sending her into a restless sleep.

She awoke hours later, breathing hard.

She had dreamed that Ace had slipped again. Only this time, they had plummeted off the edge of a cliff. Sam had woken up and the floor of a cave, cold and alone.

Extreme pain burned throughout her body as she tried to look around at her surroundings. Black nothingness filled every corner. And then glowing eyes appeared to her right. Another set to her left, on top of her, they had circled her. Six of them. Cougars lined the walls; painting of the lions on the canyon wall surrounded her and then came to life.

They all attached her at the same moment. The instant before she woke, she saw Ace's dead half eaten body next to her. To her left was the Phantom, bloodied and hurt. The rest of the great stallion's herd laid scattered across the canyon floor. Sam laid on a bed of bones. Horse bones.

Sam sat up, her heart was pounding, and sweat dripped from her brow into her eyes.

_It was only a dream_, she tried to convince herself as she laid her head back down on her pillow. _Just a dream. A terrible, horrible dream. A nightmare._

She sighed. It had been such a long time since the cougar had attacked her. A really long time since she had even thought of the lonely cat. But the cat had to be far away. He wouldn't come back to River Bend or even the Calico Mountains. There would be no reason for him to come back.

Sam sighed as her wary thoughts drifted from her mind and she slide back into sleep. This time, a restful sleep that would fuel her until the next evening.

**Me: Sorry the chapter was so short! Hope you still enjoyed it! Tell me what you think, be truthful. Honest, I don't mind a little flame here and there. I won't bite anyone's head off!**

**Jake: Whatever. You nearly bite mine off after the last interview.**

**Me: That's because it stunk. Like you're horse.**

**Jake: LIKE MY WHAT?**

**Me: NVM. Forget I said that. *blushs and finds a place to hide***

**R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: If I owned Phantom Stallion I wouldn't be on a fan site writing about Phantom Stallion. So obvously, I don't own Ph.S.**

**I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get another chapter up! Here it is, enjoy!**

**Chapter Seven**

**Sam woke up to the sun **shining through her bedroom window. She rubbed her eyes before she stretched out her bunched up muscles. She winced when she stretched her ankle and pulled her foot out from under her covers.

"Ouch," she touched her foot as she looked over her black and blue ankle. Maybe, she had only bruised her ankle, but then again, Ace's weight probably could have crushed the bone in her foot.

Sam wriggled out of bed and pulled on a pare of jean shorts that had faded in the sun. She stripped of her navy blue tank top and grabbed an orange and red button down shirt from her closet before grabbing her socks and hobbling down the stairs.

Once in the quiet kitchen, Sam looked through the cabinet to find wrappings that they used on the horse's legs before loading them into the trailer. She sat at the table and wrapped her foot and ankle. She pulled her socks on, and then her boots.

She grabbed a coffee mug and poured coffee until it was just above the half way marker. Sam dumped sugar and creamer into the mug and stirred it with a spoon. She hopped onto the porch and sat down next to Gram.

Gram smiled and patted her knee, "Did you see the plate of bacon and eggs I left for you?"

"No, where is it?" Sam asked, her stomach growling.

"On the table. I just finished putting away the left overs, go get it." Gram nodded towards the door.

Sam nodded and hopped back into the kitchen. She scooped up a plate full of her favorite breakfast foods, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage. She licked her lips, grabbed a fork from the silverware drawer, and walked back outside to eat her beautiful food on the porch.

She shook her head. Sam had to be going crazy. She just called her food beautiful. _Beautiful_!

"Gram, do you think that it's weird if I called my eggs beautiful?" Sam sat down next to Gram and took a bite of her food.

"Weird? Maybe for scrabbled eggs, but not for something that took you ages to make. Maybe a fancy cake, like Brynna's wedding cake." Gram didn't look up from the quilt she was making.

Sam sat in the silence as she ate her breakfast while watching the horses in the pasture mosey around munching on the grass.

She looked towards the bridge as Jake's dusty red truck pulled into the ranch yard. Sam's eyes shot to Wytte, who was walking out of the barn.

As soon as Jake stepped out of his truck, he shaded his eyes from the sun and called over to Sam. "Come see the new filly, Sam! She's in the barn."

"Ok, I'll be right there!" Sam said looking down at her empty plate. She was about to take it inside so she could rinse it off before the evening wash.

"I'll take it, sweetie." Gram slipped the plate from Sam's grasp and waddled inside.

"Thanks Gram." Sam smiled. Even though Gram's feet were sore, she didn't stop showing her love for her family. And right now, she wanted to save Sam five seconds to be with the ones she loved.

Sam trotted towards the barn. Half way to the barn she had to stop and walk, her ankle couldn't take the pounding of her weight.

Jake met Sam at the barn door. He put his arm around Sam's shoulder and guided her towards the biggest stall in the barn.

A piercing nay split the air as a golden filly shot her head over the door. She pressed her chest against the door, almost as if she was trying to get out.

Jake stopped walking and peeled his arm off Sam. "We'd better not get any closer."

"Why? She doesn't look mean." Sam asked. She thought the mare wanted to be cared for, loved on. Anything except staying in the dark stall.

"She's not, at lest not to girls. But she just wants to murder Wytte an' me." Jake said quietly.

Sam looked from Jake's silent face to the filly's pricked ears. The filly bobbled her head and stared strait at Sam. She took a step backwards to stand behind Jake. The filly pulled her ears back and bared her teeth. Weird.

"So how are you supposed to train her?" Sam asked as she stepped in front of Jake.

"I'm not." Jake's blank face turned into a slight smile as he looked into Sam's eyes, "you are."

"Me? But I don't know squat about training horses!" Sam yelped.

"I'll tell you what to do. It'll be easy." Jake smiled his signature tomcat grin as he patted Sam's shoulder. "Now grab her halter and lead her out to the corral."

"But—but—you have to at lest tell me what her name is!" Sam stalled.

Jake rolled his eyes and sighed, "Her racing name is Ember Lightning, but her stable name is Ember. She's three years old and was bred from a woman in Kentucky. The man who bought her tried beating her to get her broke to saddle. Somehow, the filly figured that women were nice to her while men would beat her, so when the man who bought her tried to sell her, no one could come near her because everyone had some male figure with 'em. Like a little girl brought her dad. Some lady brought her boyfriend to see the filly. And so on."

"Poor girl." Sam sighed and walked up to the filly with her purple halter. Before she haltered the filly she noticed her unusual coloring. Light sorrel with a flaxen mane and tail. A white blaze in the perfect shape of a lightning bolt and two hind white socks. "She's gorgeous."

"I know. And she has this prancing gate that's smooth at a trot. Man I wish she would let me ride her." Jake sighed and shook his head. "Meet me at the round pen."

"Ok," Sam whispered as she slipped the halter over the mare's golden ears. "Come on sweetie, um, Ember."

Sam led the golden brown filly out of the barn and into the sun light. She sniffed the air while closing her eyes. She seemed to be perfectly at peace. Ember pricked her ears towards the roads and nickered as the yellow Buick rolled over the bridge.

Brynna slide out of the driver's seat and walked around to the other side of the car to help Cody undo his seat belt.

"Hey Sam, is that the new horse?" Brynna asked as she led Cody closer to the filly.

"Yeah, but she doesn't like men so I'd keep Cody away—" Sam started, but the filly stepped out so quickly she stopped talking and wrapped the lead rope around her wrist.

The filly brought down her nose and sniffed Cody, ears pricked to there limit. Cody giggled and petted the filly's neck as the mare gently rubbed her head on Cody's chest.

"What was that? I'm guessing she's decided Cody don't count." Brynna laughed as the filly lifted her head to sniff Brynna.

"Maybe it's because he's so little?" Sam asked.

"I'm guessing you're training her, not Jake then?" Brynna scratched the mare's neck, under her mane.

"Yeah." Sam sighed. "It's not that I don't want too, it's just that I'm not sure if I can. I'm going to have to cure her of her hate for men, but… I'm not sure I'd want to even get close to a guy if he had hurt me…"

"I understand." Brynna nodded. "One of my boyfriends in high school hurt me. I didn't want to have anything to do with boys after that. And then I met this really sweet guy in college. As that relationship ended, I was the one who broke his heart."

"You?" Sam laughed, "It's hard to think—"

"Oh, I know. Hey, in an hour, let's go over the HARP girls' papers." Brynna said turning towards the house. She looked towards the corral and smiled at Jake, "Or when ever you're done…"

What had she meant? Sam shook her head and led the filly towards the round pen.

**Sorry it's been such a long time since I up-dated! Life just gets so busy sometimes!**

**Tell me what you think!**

**MRVWHC**


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